How to Order a Civil War Widow's Pension Records
Military records are useful sources of information for genealogists. Since they are typically maintained by governments, these types of records are reliable and fairly easy to obtain. However, records from the Civil War are more difficult to find, especially pension records for Confederate veterans. The states, rather than the federal government, provided pensions for Confederate veterans. As a result, the rules governing the granting of these benefits and the dates they were implemented differed from state to state.
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Instructions
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Go to The National Archives website. It maintains a page containing information for acquiring Confederate pension records. The site provides contact information for Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, South Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia.
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Determine which state you need to contact for records. A veteran applied for a pension from the state he lived in, even if he had enlisted in a different state. He was eligible for a pension if he was indigent or disabled. In most states, widows were not eligible to receive benefits at first. However, they were included later. In fact, widows from Missouri were never given pensions. In contrast, Arkansas granted pensions to mothers. The dates that pensions were implemented varied by state. Some did not start granting pensions until the 1890's or later.
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Contact the appropriate state repository for the proper procedures and fees for requesting these records. You may contact the state by phone or letter. Most states provide some information online.
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Gather the information you will need to order copies of these records. According to the National Archives, when you contact the state, you will need to know the veteran's name, his widow's name, the unit he served in and the counties his widow lived in following the Civil War.
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